NAVIER Boat Cockpit Dashboard
CONCEPT ART, COMPONENT LAYOUT, 3D MODELS, RENDERINGS
DISCIPLINE(S): Industrial Design
ROLE: Principal Industrial Designer (sole designer; full-scope ownership from concept through production handoff)
SKILLS & TOOLS: Sketching, Photoshop, Class A Surfacing, Solidworks, Keyshot
Navier designs and produces high-performance electric hydrofoil boats, built around sustainability and advanced technology. I was responsible for developing a cockpit dashboard experience for the N30 that matched the craft's aesthetic and performance standards.
Problem/Opportunity
Navier's exterior and interior sculpting had already been generated by an independent design firm before we were brought in — but leadership wasn't satisfied with the resulting cockpit dashboard, and came to us specifically for alternatives.
Any new direction had to work within a visual identity that was already well-defined — duotone silver/black, geometric-leaning style lines, trapezoidal structural shapes — while still solving whatever had made the original dashboard fall short.
Goal
Design a dashboard that embodied the N30's brand positioning — futuristic yet classic, luxury without sacrificing performance — translating Navier's stated identity ("unparalleled comfort," "bold... elegance with powerful agility") into a physical control surface.
Impact
Final concept was developed through to Class A Surfacing and handed off to the shipyard for production.
From Navier’s website:
“Unparalleled Comfort // Bring adventure to life and indulge in the utmost luxury. With a spacious and HVAC enabled cabin, N30 embodies comfort at sea. Enjoy conversation on a silent and smooth ride without the roar of a motor.”
Our dashboard form embodies the bold styling of the Navier craft in a way that combines elegance with powerful agility, reflecting the advanced nature of the craft’s technology and capabilities.
“N30 is futuristic yet classic, combining luxury and high utility without compromising on performance. The futuristic multivariable day boat is perfect for fishing, water skiing, family outings and service as a unique yacht tender.”
Final Original Deliverable
1. Rimless Glass Panel
2. Document Compartment
3. Metallic Accents in keeping with Navier Branding
4. Additional Pockets
5. Controls
Aesthetic Guidelines
Navier's brand identity was fully defined before this project began, which meant the job wasn't inventing a visual language — it was interpreting one correctly.
Three elements stayed non-negotiable throughout: a duotone silver/black palette, style lines that leaned geometric rather than organic, and trapezoidal shapes governing major structures, echoed in details like the side windows. Every dashboard concept, however far it ranged, had to still read unmistakably as a Navier.
Unique brand elements identified:
1. Duotone silver/black color scheme
2. Style lines that tended to slant toward geometric
3. Trapezoidal shapes defining many structures, as in the side windows
Initial State
The starting point wasn't a blank page, it was a rejection.
An independent design firm had already produced exterior and interior sculpting for the N30, but Navier's leadership wasn't satisfied with the cockpit dashboard specifically and brought us in to find something better. That context mattered: the brief wasn't "design a dashboard," it was "design the dashboard the first attempt failed to deliver."
Working concepts for the Navier N30 dashboard when we were initially approached
Ideations
The first concepts stayed close to what had already been presented, less as a creative choice than as a diagnostic one.
Working within the established boundaries first was how I got fluent in Navier's actual "look and feel" before trying to push past it. Dark surfaces with varied textures, broken up by metallic strip highlights, held constant across every version from here forward.
Early 3D Model in Solidworks
Once the client saw those early concepts, the direction changed: they confirmed they wanted ideas that struck farther afield stylistically, and the majority of subsequent concepts were built around that new latitude.
Most of what followed converged on an asymmetric screen arrangement — the primary display seated directly behind the steering wheel, a secondary screen offset to the left.
Several of the strongest sketches were taken the extra step into 3D modeling for real assessment rather than staying speculative.
From that set, the client selected a final direction, which was then developed into Class A Surfacing for the shipyard.
Above: the initial sketch selected for finalization alongside the resulting CAD
What Made the Difference
The asymmetric layout that shipped didn't come from the first round of concepts, but rather after the client asked for something bolder, midway through.
It's worth naming what almost didn't happen: if the early, closer-to-brief sketches had been the ones pursued to completion, the dashboard would likely have been competent and forgettable. The willingness to stay disciplined early, then genuinely diverge once given permission to, is what separated the shipped design from the safer version sitting a few sketches earlier in the process.